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As more than 73,000 voters — about 22% of those eligible — headed to the polls in Bernalillo County on Tuesday, eyes were on the expensive and high-profile race for district attorney. The winner of the Democratic primary essentially clinched the race and will likely run unopposed in the general election in November.
(Roberto E. Rosales / City Desk ABQ)
Right off the bat, incumbent Sam Bregman had an early lead over Damon Martinez — a former U.S. attorney for the District of New Mexico who was appointed by Barack Obama.
By 9 p.m. Bregman had declared victory, thanking his campaign staff and family at a watch party at Hotel Andaluz. The longtime defense attorney and civil litigator was ahead by 12 percentage points as of 10 p.m.
Bregman told City Desk ABQ that he believes “we are actually starting to make a difference on the overall violent crime problem” but more needs to be done when it comes to targeting people who are selling guns to juveniles. The other big issue, he said, is fentanyl.